Month: February 2022
RIA Edge Podcast: Plancorp’s Chris Kerckhoff on Reinventing the Client Experience

RIA Edge Podcast: Plancorp’s Chris Kerckhoff on Reinventing the Client Experience

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Plancorp, a $5.1 billion RIA, has been one of the fastest-growing – and most focused – firms in the industry. Plancorp’s growth has been fueled by an unrelenting emphasis on the client experience, and a commitment to enrolling its expanding team in the company strategy and success. 

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, managing director of Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Chris Kerckhoff, CEO of Plancorp, about the drivers of the company’s growth and its overall evolution into one of the largest and most influential RIAs in the industry. 

Specifically, Mark and Chris discuss:

  • Plancorp’s organic and inorganic growth strategy – and how the two should complement each other
  • The benefits of expanding the company’s equity ownership to more than 20 team members 
  • Where Chris sees the most significant opportunities for PlanCorp to continue to grow over the next several years
  • How Chris has seen the advisor-client dynamic change in recent years and how will it continue to evolve

Resources:

Connect With Mark Bruno:

Connect With Chris Kerckhoff:

About Our Guest:

Chris joined Plancorp fresh out of Indiana University in 1997. At the time, he was one of only five employees. As the company grew, so did his passion and responsibilities. In 2010, as the company began to implement its succession plan, Chris became an owner and was named President of the firm. He became CEO in 2018.

Chris sits on the boards of both Plancorp and Prumentum Group, which owns BrightPlan. He is active in a number of St. Louis charities and serves on the Board of Directors and Chairs the Investment Committee for St. Louis Variety. When not serving the community or spending time with his wife and three children, Chris enjoys following St. Louis sports and studying geopolitical issues.

 

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Abacus Wealth’s Neela Hummel on Strategically Building a $4.4BN RIA

Abacus Wealth’s Neela Hummel on Strategically Building a $4.4BN RIA

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Not many CEOs of multi-billion dollar RIAs started out as an intern at the firm that they are now running. Even fewer have followed that career path to the top of a $4.4BN RIA that boasts over 70 employers. 

That’s the story of Neela Hummel, co-CEO of Abacus Wealth Partners, who recently took over as a co-head of the firm alongside Mary Beth Storjohann. In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, Mark Bruno, Managing Director of the Wealth Management Group at Informa, talks with Neela about her path and new position at Abacus. Neela also shares how Abacus has embraced diversity within the company, creating a culture of inclusivity that has helped power Abacus’ growth and expansion. 

Mark and Neela discuss:

  • How Abacus has recruited a high percentage of female advisors and how it aligns with the clients that they serve today.
  • The evolution of roles within the company as it has grown
  • How Abacus has approach M&A and assessed cultural fits
  • How has the advisor-client dynamic has changed in recent years and where will it go in the near future

Connect With Mark Bruno:

Connect With Neela Hummel: 

About Our Guest:

Integrity. Advocacy. Tenacity. Community. These were the values Neela Hummel’s mother imprinted onto her family. Every time she goes to bat for a client, help them navigate their relationship with money, or see their shoulders relax in a meeting, her passion for what she does is renewed. Neela’s love of math and quest for order brought her into financial planning over a decade ago, but doing right by people is what keeps her going. 

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